A father-of-two who retired aged just 24 has revealed how he managed to save $760,000 (£578,000) by curbing unnecessary spending, investing in rental properties and profiting from his own wedding.
Mike Rosehart, now 27, a former IT business analyst from Ontario, Canada, shares two children with his wife Alyse, 28, and they were both able to quit their jobs after just seven years of work, aged 24 and 25 respectively.
The entrepreneur, who now gives talks on how to save aggressively, says he first stumbled upon the idea when he read a book on retiring early during his time at the Ivey Business School in Ontario, Canada, in 2010.
He worked full time alongside studying, renting a cheap room and cycling everywhere, before buying a $152,000 (£115,000) cottage with Alyse aged 19 – with their savings and student loan.
Upon graduating in 2013 he invested the salary from his $42k-a-year job (£31k) in consulting in buying 10 properties in three years, living off Alyse’s $19,500-a-year graphic design salary.
In 2017 he and Alyse quit their jobs – with Mike’s boss insisting he was going through a ‘quarter-life crisis’ and predicting he would return – but the couple haven’t looked back since.
Mike then sold their 11 properties and said that he had hit his ‘FIRE number’, having made 25 times his yearly living expenses. He insists anyone can achieve ‘FIRE’ (financial independence and retire early) – simply by ‘spending less, earning more and maximising the returns on the difference.’
Mike Rosehart, now 27, a former IT business analyst from Ontario, who retired aged just 24 has revealed how he managed to save $760,000 (£578,000) by curbing unnecessary spending, investing in rental properties and profiting from his own wedding.
Mike shares two children with his wife Alyse, 28, and they were both able to quit their jobs after just seven years of work, aged 24 and 25 respectively
The entrepreneur, who now gives talks on how to save aggressively, says he first stumbled upon the idea when he read a book on retiring early at the Ivey Business School in Ontario, Canada, in 2010
Speaking to The Sun, he remembered how he began by persuading his wife to curb her spending, recalling: ‘Every time she bought Starbucks, I said: ‘That cost us two more days away from our kids.’
And the couple spent just $3,800 (£2,890) on their wedding in 2014, keeping the guest list to 80 people before using his credit card points to go to Brazil for their honeymoon – where they stayed for free in a friend’s house.
He said: ‘People give a gift when they come to a wedding and so we actually made a profit on our wedding if you think about it like that.
Mike insists that the hardest part of the ‘FIRE’ plan is to execute it, admitting that ‘most can’t resist a Starbucks, trip abroad or new cellphone’.
He says: ‘Delayed gratification is the secret to FIRE.’
He worked full time alongside studying, renting a cheap room and cycling everywhere, before buying a $152,000 (£115,000) cottage with Alyse aged 19 – with their savings and student loan
Upon graduating in 2013 he invested the salary from his $42k-a-year job (£31k) in consulting in buying 10 properties in three years, living off Alyse’s $19,500-a-year graphic design salary
And by 2017 he had hit his goal of saving $485,000 (£368k) to retire, having amassed $760,000 (£580k) in equity from the 11 properties he sold.
Upon quitting his job, his boss told him he would keep his job open, predicting Mike would return in six months -but he never did.
Although Mike admits he found retiring at 27 ‘a bit jarring’ at first, he now runs a YouTube channel giving business advice, as well as coaching others on how to achieve financial independence.
Upon graduating in 2013 he invested the salary from his $42k-a-year job (£31k) in consulting in buying 10 properties in three years, living off Alyse’s $19,500-a-year graphic design salary
In 2017 he and Alyse quit their jobs – with Mike’s boss insisting he was going through a ‘quarter-life crisis’ and predicting he would return, but the couple haven’t looked back since